Sunday, June 30, 2013

Book Review: The Asylum: More Gothic Victorian Greatness From John Harwood

~Review by Marie Robinson

John Harwood is one of those rare authors who hasn’t written a book I
didn’t like. Well, except for two nonfiction books he wrote early in
his career that I haven’t read… but in recent years Harwood has
established himself as a horror novelist. Christine and I both loved his
previous novel,The Séance, and we even gave it a brief yet positive review on the site.

Just this past May Harwood released his
newest Gothic tale,The Asylum. Twenty-year-old Georgina Ferrars wakes
up one day to find herself in a mental hospital in an English town she
has never been to. What is even stranger is that she has checked herself
under a false name and can remember nothing of the last several weeks.
When she tries to gain correspondence with her uncle, her only remaining
family member, she receives only a brief telegram back saying that
Georgina Ferrars is presently there, and that she must be an imposter.
Trapped within the confines of a madhouse where she is held by people
who think her to be insane, Georgina must piece together the mystery of
her life, those forgotten weeks, and the girl who claims to be her.

This
three-part book goes between tradition narrative, journal entries, and
letters, making it an interesting and stimulating read. Much like
Harwood’s other novels, it is a genuine page-turner dripping with
atmosphere unique to late Victorian London. Georgina is an interesting
protagonist because although she seems to be an unreliable character
(she is not even in a place to trust herself) you really want to believe
her, and you inevitably finding yourself rooting for her, and yearning
for the ever-building clues to unravel the mystery.

John Harwood
has adopted this old-fashioned Gothic writing style in all three of his
novels; you may think this means that the text is dry, brittle and
cryptic (even though I, myself, love a traditional Gothic piece) but
that certainly is not the case. Although an homage to an older style of
writing, the words are fresh and alive, almost nostalgic in their
cadence. I’m sure this is what Harwood is going for, and I’d be curious
who he would cite as his influences; if I were to guess simply by the
flavors I picked up in this book I’d say Poe, Wilde, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle and definitely some Algernon Blackwood.

Bethlem Royal Hospital

While the asylum
that Georgina is held at in the novel is considered to be highly humane
and advanced for its time, there is many a reference to the notorious
real-life London asylum, Bethlem. In the Victorian era it was more like a
prison than a hospital; patients existed in deplorable conditions. They
were much of the time unsupervised and “dangerous” patients were
chained to the floor. Believe it or not, for the price of one pence the
public was allowed access to walk around and few the patients like
animals in a zoo—they could even prod at them through the bars with a
stick! Since then it has become one of the leading examples of
excellence in mental health, but it will forever be infamous for its
grotesque beginnings.

Even though his sophmore title The Séance
is still my favorite of his, I really enjoyed this book, and I sincerely
hope Harwood keeps up his creepy tales!

Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent...

We Wrote That:

*Christine Hadden is the creator, editor, and head writer of the Rondo-nominated blog Fascination with Fear and has been an obsessed horror fan for longer than many of her readers have been alive. She can overlook movie plot holes in exchange for style and atmosphere, rejects both the 3D and found footage phenomenons, values high gore content when done right, always prefers practical effects over CGI, and has an undying love of vampires. She considers Norman Bates her homeboy and claims Jaws as her favorite film. She has written for Fangoria and Paracinema magazines, MoviePilot, and Eli Roth's horror app The Crypt. She enjoys Kentucky bourbon and red, red wine. But not together.

Contributing Writer

*Marie Robinson is an aspiring folklore expert, published writer, and obvious old soul from St. Louis, MO. She considers Roman Polanski one of her favorite directors, The Sentinel among the scariest of films she's seen, and has read both Algernon Blackwood and M.R. James - making her wise beyond her years. In her spare time, she enjoys wandering through misty cemeteries, seeking knowledge and proof of paranormal activity, and prepping her next frightening short story. Besides Fascination with Fear, she contributes to Destroy the Brain and has written for Eli Roth's horror app: The Crypt.